


Scales and Horns

by chlodobird



Series: The Dragon of Hell's Kitchen [1]
Category: Daredevil (TV), Iron Fist (TV), Jessica Jones (TV), Luke Cage (TV), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Defenders (Marvel TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Dragon AU, Gen, basically a rewrite of defenders where things don't go catastrophically wrong, plus matt's a dragon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-10
Updated: 2020-03-10
Packaged: 2021-02-28 16:47:47
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 17,157
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23090452
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chlodobird/pseuds/chlodobird
Summary: When Matt finds out that the Hand are back in Hell's Kitchen, he expects things to go sideways. What he doesn't expect is to find some new allies, some old allies, and a whole mess of secrets.AU where Matt's a dragon, because what's life without a little bit of magic in it, right?
Relationships: Jessica Jones & Matt Murdock, Luke Cage & Jessica Jones & Matt Murdock & Danny Rand, Luke Cage & Jessica Jones & Matt Murdock & Danny Rand & Claire Temple & Colleen Wing, Luke Cage & Matt Murdock, Matt Murdock & Danny Rand
Series: The Dragon of Hell's Kitchen [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1660564
Comments: 10
Kudos: 382





	1. Prologue: In Which Matt Does Not Have A Good Start

**Author's Note:**

> Be warned: If you haven't seen Defenders, there's a few spoilers for the first half of the season in there. The other shows don't feature much in it, besides a couple references, but there are Daredevil spoilers. Mostly for season 2, but there's some stuff taken from season 3 towards the end of the fic.  
> None of the Marvel shows belong to me, of course.  
> Happy reading!

Maggie Murdock wasn’t human.

When Matthew was born, she knew he would be the same as her. He screamed, and though she feigned ignorance for Jack’s sake, she knew why he wouldn’t stop. It  _ hurt _ , to be in a tiny human body. They were dragons, and they longed to stretch their wings and claws and teeth and scales.

Matt would have to learn to be human, and he would always be pretending. Pretending to be the same as everybody else, pretending he wasn’t constantly burning. Pretending he was content.

“I’m so sorry,” Maggie whispered to him, knowing he wouldn’t hear. “I wanted to keep you, but you’re going to hurt. You’ll never feel quite right, and the seeds of your real self will burn away at your life until there’s nothing left. This was a mistake.”

She left New York that day, shedding her human form for one much bigger. The flight back home to Ireland would be long, but once there, she could find a nice hill to curl up under for a few decades, and sleep long enough to forget her mistakes in the city that she’d left behind.

Maybe her son would be human enough to ignore the instincts she’d passed down to him, but she had a nasty feeling that he had more in common with her than with Jack.

When Matt went blind, the walls he’d built up to him the “devil” inside thinned, and before he could reinforce them to keep the dragon in, his dad died, and all his defenses shattered. His scream rippled over Hell’s Kitchen, sending chills down spines. The citizens of his neighbourhood all stood still for one minute, listening to the sound of a dragon’s grief. By the next day, everyone had forgotten about it, but the children heard it echoing sometimes, repeating in their nightmares.

He rebuilt his walls in the orphanage, and when Stick arrived, he learned that the same shell he’d created to keep the devil in would help keep others out. Letting people in would only get them hurt.

In Colombia, Foggy didn’t try to break through his wall. He leaned against it from the outside and talked his way in, without even trying. Matt’s inner dragon looked at Foggy and decided the other student was  _ his _ .

Matt didn’t know why he was so fiercely protective of his friend, but when he heard people talking about Foggy behind his back, he burned with the need to tell them why they were wrong. He was torn between wanting people to see how amazing Foggy was, and the desire to keep Foggy as his own friend, and it terrified him.

Nelson & Murdock’s first case added another person to his hoard. Foggy and Karen were Matt’s, and he refused to lose them like he lost his dad. When Claire fished him out of the dumpster, the dragon claimed her too, and mourned when she pushed them away. When Fisk threatened Hell’s Kitchen, the devil inside him reared his head, and hissed. Hell’s Kitchen was Matt’s territory, and he’d die before he let Fisk destroy it. When he fought Nobu, the sparks leapt readily from the blade, and when Nobu burned, although Matt was horrified, a quiet part of him whispered that this was  _ right _ , that this was how his enemies  _ should be _ .

Fisk fell to the rage of Daredevil, and Matt was shaken, because in their final confrontation, when he’d begun to falter in the face of Kingpin’s brute strength, he let the devil out. He’d been stronger and faster than he should have been, and afterward, his wounds healed at an uncanny speed.

He went to work, tried to pretend that everything was fine with Foggy, tried to pretend he didn’t know that something was wrong with Karen, and tried to pretend that the walls he’d built to keep the devil in him from getting out weren’t crumbling faster than he could shore them up. He tried to pretend he was human.

Then the Punisher and Elektra broke into his life in a haze of blood and death. The court case ripped his friends from him, and Elektra died, and Matt was left bloody and alone, just like Claire said he would.

His inner dragon was quieter than he’d ever felt it.


	2. Chapter One: In Which Matt Can Only Make Friends If They're Fighting Ninjas

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Luke and Danny’s heartbeats spiked, and Danny blurted, 'You know Claire?'  
> 'Claire Temple? She helped stitch me up a few times. You know her?'  
> 'I’m dating her,' Luke shrugged.   
> Danny was probably beaming, based on his tone of voice. 'Are you the dumpster idiot she mentioned in the plane ride?'  
> Matt scowled, and that was confirmation enough for Luke. 'You’re the guy she pulled out of the trash?'  
> He shrugged. 'It was a rough week.'  
> 'Well, this one’s shaping up to be worse,' Jessica said with a huff."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer, this is the chapter that's probably the closest to the show itself. I took a lot of dialogue from the episode "The Royal Dragon" (trust me, I think the name is hilarious and I wish that they'd made a joke about it in the show when Danny was doing his "punched Shou-Lao in the heart" spiel) and altered it to keep the basic exposition but add in a slightly friendlier character dynamic (and the whole dragon au thing, of course)  
> Anyway, enjoy!

Matt ignored his unease at the glassy Midland Circle building, and grabbed Jessica Jones’ arm to pull her aside.

“Murdock, what the-”

“We need to leave, now.”

“You grab me like that again, I’ll punch you so hard you see.”

Matt’s devil growled, ready for a fight, and he pushed it further down. “Listen, I’ve been here before.”

“Why are you following me?”

He kept going, ignoring her question. “And you’re in serious danger.”

She huffed in disbelief, and asked “What kind of lawyer are you?”

“This case you took, it’s leading you towards something truly sinister.”

“Okay, you are the most full of shit lawyer I”ve ever met, and I think we should stop and appreciate the magnitude of that statement.”

“Let’s talk about this somewhere else.”

“Let’s talk about it never.” She hesitated, and added, “Unless you want to tell me how a blind man moves the way you do.”

“Excuse me?”

“I have pictures, asshole.”

Matt paused for a millisecond, calculating how bad his latest series of decisions were, before yanking the camera out of Jones’ bag and smashing it against the column.

“What the fuck?”

Before he could respond, a muffled bang caught his attention, and he tilted his head to get a better read.

“What are you doing?”

“Gunshot.”

Her disgust evaporated. “Where?”

“In the penthouse.”

“How do you know that?”

“I just do, this is exactly what I was trying to avoid.” He grabbed her scarf and took off for the staircase, muttering, “I need that,” as he left.

He bolted up the stairs, and felt the devil in him rear its head, ready for a fight.

When he emerged on the top floor, he greeted Jones with a nod.

“You look like an asshole.”

“It’s your scarf.”

A tall man threw a shorter one through the wall, and Matt slid into a defensive stance before Jones greeted him. He was ready for a fight, and didn’t have the patience for talking.

After trading quips, Jones shrugged and said, “Time to go.” She followed up with a sing-song “uh-oh” as men rushed around the corner into the hallway. The quartet fought their way out, leaving a trail of bruised and bloody bodies unconscious in their wake.

They rushed into a nearby restaurant, and under his mask, Matt was scowling. He wanted out of the vigilante bullshit, but it had found him anyway. 

The man in the restaurant called out that they were closed as Matt hurried to pull down the blinds. “We need to kill the lights.”

“How do you even know they’re on?”

“Hey, I said we’re closed!”

Matt tuned out the two men’s negotiations with the restaurant owner, and kept an ear out for anyone following them. He couldn’t hear anyone, but with the Hand, it was hard to be sure.

He turned his attention to the angry restaurant owner, and growled, “Sir, this is for your protection. We need this place to look closed.”

One of the men he fought alongside guided the owner towards the back, but Matt’s attention was caught by a subtle buzzing. “I still hear neon.”

Behind him, Jones and the taller man- Luke, if Jones’ words were anything to go by- muttered about if they could trust him, but he didn’t have the time to worry about that. He strode towards the back to check everything would seem closed, but he tuned back in to their conversation when Jones asked about the shorter man. All he heard before they changed the subject to personal matters was that he was Danny Rand, apparently a billionaire with a strong punch.

“Alright, back door’s clear, everything’s locked. I think we’re safe for now.”

Luke frowned. “So, we’re just gonna wait it out here?”

“You got a better plan?”

“Is there a plan where I get my scarf back?” Jones added, acid dripping from her voice.

“I just need it till this is all over,” Matt said tiredly. “What, do you two know each other?”

“Yeah,” Jones said.

“How?”

“We met, we drank, I . . . shot him in the head.”

Matt snorted, but Luke wasn’t amused. “Why are you still wearing that thing?”

Matt stumbled over the beginning of an explanation, but was saved from having to talk about his vigilantism by Rand interrupting them.

“Okay, he says we can stay.”

Luke sounded incredulous. “What did you tell him?”

“Uh, I just gave him my black card, agreed to pay the rent for the next six months.” Rand chuckled and held his hand out towards Jones, how hesitantly shook it. “Hey, I'm, uh. I'm Danny.”

“Jessica.”

“And uh, you are?” Danny trailed off, waiting for an answer.

Matt shook his head. “No, I can’t, I’m not doing this.” Foggy would be so mad. If Foggy still cared.

“Doing what?” Danny said.

“Look, whatever happened back there, we did what we had to. We got out alive.” He ignored Luke’s attempt to cut in, and continued. “The less we know about each other, the better. This is, it's too much already.”

Jessica’s heart rate picked up a little, and she said “Okay.” 

He leaned away and smacked away her incoming hand, and glared harder under the makeshift mask. “Don’t-”

“Jesus,” Jessica said. The disgust, with just a hint of disdain, was back in her voice.

“There are people I need to protect,” Matt growled, and after a second, he cocked his head, ignoring Luke’s reply. Danny’s heart rate had picked up.

“Danny, what did you just realize?”

His heartbeat spiked again. “What the hell are you?”

Jessica cut in. “What are you two talking about?”

“I can, well, I can hear heartbeats. Danny’s just sped up. He just thought of something.” All three of the other heartbeats surged, and he sighed. “I don’t have time for this, the Hand could be here any minute. Danny, what did you just think of?”

“Your chi. It, uh. It feels like Shou-Lao, but different. Wait, you know the Hand?”

“Who the hell is Shou-Lao?” Matt hissed.

“Forget that, are we just going to skip over the heartbeat thing?” Luke asked.

Jessica shrugged. “It would help explain how a blind man can fight. What’s Shou-Lao? And the ninja bullshit?”

Danny ignored her and kept his focus on Matt. “He’s a dragon. When did you cross paths with the Hand?”

“A dragon?” Matt said in disbelief? “Seriously?”

Jessica laughed shortly, without any sort of warmth. “He’s high. When did you meet the- the  _ Hand _ . Ugh.”

Matt sighed. “I fought them with a friend. She died. End of story. These aren’t people you mess with. These are people you stay away from.”

“We need to figure out our next move,” Danny interrupted.

“No, there is no next move. What did you mean, dragon?”

Jessica shook her head. “There is no ‘we’ and there are no dragons. They came at us, we fought our way out. Let's call it professional courtesy. End of story.”

Matt growled, and felt the devil in him burning to get out. “Danny, what did you mean?”

The heartbeats of the other three bumped a little upwards, and Danny shrugged. His voice sounded a little strained when he responded. “Your chi feels more like a dragon than a human.”

“You’re crazy,” Jessica repeated.

Matt laughed in disbelief. “You’re as superstitious as the Hand. Do you think they can bring people to life, too?”

Luke interrupted, pointing towards the kitchen. “What is that?”

“Oh. Um, as part of the deal, he made me order four of everything.”

“We're not here to eat,” Luke said, exasperation bouncing off the room.

Danny shrugged, and called, “Uh, are those pork?”

“No, they're shrimp.” Matt inhaled, and continued, “This guy's got pork.”

The glee was obvious in Danny’s voice as he headed toward the table. “Ah, great!” 

“God, you're weird,” Jessica said pointedly as she brushed past him.

“The Hand is an ancient criminal organisation,” Danny said around a mouthful of dumplings.

Luke sighed. “Define ancient.”

“They live forever.”

“You wanna try that again?” Jessica said.

Matt cut in. “They live by a fanatical ideology, and every member is willing to die to protect it.”

Luke’s steady heart rate jumped for a second before returning to normal. “So they're terrorists?”

“No. Terrorists want the world to know what they're doing. This is something more secret, more evil,” Matt said shortly. He itched to run or fight or do anything except stand here explaining the Hand to a man he didn’t even know.

Danny jumped in cheerily, oblivious to the tension of the room once the food had arrived. “And they're global.”

Luke frowned. “So what do they do?”

“Everything.”

“Including the recruitment of young men in Harlem?” Luke said, a dangerous tone entering his voice.

“Apparently,” Danny said. “Look, they're in New York for a reason, but I don't know why.”

Jessica cut in. “What do you mean, ‘fanatical ideology’?”

Matt started to say, “Gonna sound crazy, but-”

“Okay so what do they want?” Luke interrupted.

“Immortality. They want power and influence at every level across the world. And . . . I think they want me.”

“For your money?” Matt asked.

“No. I'm the Immortal Iron Fist.”

Matt leaned forward. “Come again?”

“Sworn protector of K'un-Lun.”

“What are you on, Lithium?” Jessica scoffed.

Danny shrugged and changed the subject. “There were Hand soldiers in Cambodia.”

“I bet it was the Hand that killed my client, too.”

Matt’s fingers curled into a fist at the idea of the Hand invading his personal life again, and said shortly, “I’m sorry, this is a mistake. I gotta go.”

Luke’s heart sped up, and his muscles tensed. “Hey, where?”

“I can't be a part of this.”

“If you ask me, you already are. We need to put it all on the table.”

“I don't know you, man, I don't owe you any-”

“And I don’t trust you.”

Luke grabbed Matt, and he went deathly still. “You wanna take your hand off my shoulder?” He was distantly aware of Danny’s heartbeat racing behind him.

Luke’s voice kept all his focus. “Take off the mask.”

“You're not gonna like where this is heading,” Matt said, dangerously quiet.

“Try me.”

Jessica, from his experience with Foggy’s narration of angry college students, was probably rolling her eyes. “Oh, boy. Counselor, a word?”

When they’d gone far enough away, Jessica launched into her sarcastic lecture. “Where do you think you're going?”

“You're gonna need another lawyer.”

“Why did you follow me into the building?”

“Ms. Jones, lose my card.”

“I wish I could.”

“Look, I've been down this road before. I know what we're up against.”

“I know who you are.”

Matt chuckled. “No, you don't. Trust me.”

“Yes, I do. You're the Devil of Hell's Kitchen. Or Devil Boy, or whatever it is you like to be called.”

Matt jumped in before she was finished. “Whatever you're insinuating, I don't have any clue.”

“I'm a PI. I put two and two together. Besides, you leaping around the city like a Russian gymnast didn't exactly help.”

“You don't have any proof.”

“I did. You smashed it. I'm not threatening you. I'm just stating the obvious. They saw you fight. How you're hiding your face. They're two seconds away from figuring it out themselves.”

“What do you want from me?”

“Nothing. And I want zero to do with this ancient organization. I just want to crack my case. But judging by the way you sprung into action, I think you want the same thing. Your call, Murdock.” 

She turned and headed back to the table, and Matt growled to himself. If he got tangled in the Hand again, his people could get hurt. But at the same time, maybe Danny had some answers about the dragon thing that he wasn’t sharing yet. Plus, he could help. Whatever the Hand was doing in New York, it wasn’t good, and Hell’s Kitchen was  _ his _ .

He pulled the scarf off, and trudged towards the table. “My name is Matthew.”

Danny shrugged and sat down. “Glad you decided to share. Want a dumpling?”

Matt followed suit, and waved him off. “I’m Daredevil, too.”

Luke cocked his head. “I heard he just disappeared.”

Matt winced. “That's not exactly how it happened.”

“It just doesn't make any sense. What do you mean you're Daredevil?” Danny asked.

“It's a long story,” Matt sighed. “One I'd rather not tell. More importantly, it's a secret I keep to protect my people.”

Luke shrugged. “Okay. I get that.”

“Good.”

“I don't. You're blind.”

Matt sighed at Danny. “Yeah, well, sight is overrated. Enhanced senses.”

“Is that how you do the heartbeat lie detector thing?” Jessica asked.

He nodded, and Luke stepped in. “Look, guys, we need to come up with some kind of plan here.”

Jessica shook her head. “The only plan is how do we get these people off our backs? Ideally, in a way that doesn't incriminate us.”

“Incriminate us?” Danny said in confusion, “What are you talking about?”

Her heartbeat picked up with frustration. “None of us are on police payroll. What we did back there was trespassing, aggravated assault, and vigilante bullshit.”

“Guys, there's one cop I think we can trust. I think we should bring her in,” Luke suggested.

Matt instantly crushed the idea. “Nope. Bad idea. You'd be putting her in danger.”

“As will anyone who goes up against the Hand. And as for doing this any ‘legal’ way,” Danny trailed off. “Well, look, you saw what happened when we tried that.”

“Is that what that was?” Luke said sarcastically.

“It started that way. Look, I even put on a tie!”

Matt dipped into his courtroom voice. These three _ had _ to understand the danger of the Hand. “I promise you, you cannot fight these people. Not even with whatever it is your hand can do.”

“It's chi.”

Matt jumped on that to interrogate Danny further. “Wasn’t that what you said felt like a dragon? What did you mean by that?”

“I meant what I said! You’re a dragon, not a human.”

Jessica groaned. “Look, dumbass, he’s sitting here right in front of us. Very obviously a human, not a fairy tale.”

Matt gave up on getting a coherent explanation from Danny, and went back to persuading the others to avoid the Hand. “Anyway, what I'm saying is, going at them head on, that'll get you killed.”

Danny shrugged. “Only if we do it alone.”

Seconds passed as that sank in, and Jessica was the first to react. “No.”

“Look, these people took everything from me,” Danny said earnestly. “I'm gonna take them down, one way or another.”

Luke shook his head. “I wanted to help one kid. One family.”

“I'm the first to admit when I'm in over my head, and this is way past my threshold,” Jessica drawled.

“What are you talking about? Bulletproof. Blind ninja. Whatever it is you are.”

“Classy,” she snapped.

“Look, I tried being a one-man army, and it failed. But this? This feels like something else is at work here. The four of us show up to fight a criminal organization at the same moment? How obvious does it have to be? This, this cannot be an accident.”

Matt sighed and took control of the conversation. “Okay. I know you mean well, but we're not whatever you think we are. All right? We’re four very different people, and while we might all have been trying to do some good, we need to be rational about how we proceed. I’m willing to work with you three if I have to, but I want the Hand  _ out of my city _ .”

Danny nodded to him, and when he spoke, he sounded pleased to have one person on board for the team-up. “What should we do first?”

Matt sighed and leaned back in his chair. “One thing at a time. I’ve met the Hand before, and so have you, obviously. Jessica? Luke?”

They both shook their heads. “So, can you actually tell when we nod?” Jessica drawled.

“I already told you I have enhanced senses. It’s a radar. I can pick up movements, but little details aren’t there. I don’t know what any of you look like, I know pieces that form a shape. And, well, you and Luke, along with normal people smells? You smell like chemicals, and Danny fucking  _ hums _ .”

“That’s my chi!” he said brightly. “I wonder if your senses are because you’re a dragon.”

“Wait, can you hold on a second and actually explain that?” Luke asked. “The Hand can wait another three minutes.”

Danny nodded and snatched another potsticker before jumping in. “You both saw my fist glow, right?” Luke and Jessica nodded reluctantly. “Well, there was a dragon named Shou Lao in K’un-Lun. I had to fight him as a test, but I defeated him and gained his power. I can use my chi to power the Iron Fist. It makes me stronger, faster, and I can use it to heal. Takes a lot out of me, though. Gotta eat a lot to refuel.” He gestured broadly at the table.

“So- so you can feel this chi in other people? And mine feels-”

“Like a dragon, yeah. One of your parents was a dragon. Did either of them hint about this?”

“No,” Matt said shortly. “This is crazy. Do you have any evidence besides magic chi bullshit?”

“No, but-”

“Then let’s just focus on this Hand problem.”

“What exactly happened last time you met the Hand?” Jessica asked pointedly.

Matt gritted his teeth and reluctantly answered honestly. “My friend, well. Someone I knew a long time ago showed up back in town. She wanted me to help her with a problem. It turned out to be linked to the Hand, and we handled it together. We fought them off, but she- she died. That bastard Nobu killed her.”

The other three were quiet, but Jessica broke the silence. “There’s more that you’re not telling us.”

Matt assumed she was giving him her best glare, and sighed. “There was a place they called the Farm. Bunch of kidnapped kids being used to incubate a freaky drug cocktail. I brought them to a hospital, where they were recaptured by the Hand. They- well, I made a mistake. Nurses died. I barely managed to save Claire, and-” 

Luke and Danny’s heartbeats spiked, and Danny blurted, “You know Claire?”

“Claire Temple? She helped stitch me up a few times. You know her?”

“I’m dating her,” Luke shrugged. 

Danny was probably beaming, based on his tone of voice. “Are you the dumpster idiot she mentioned in the plane ride?”

Matt scowled, and that was confirmation enough for Luke. “ _ You’re _ the guy she pulled out of the trash?”

He shrugged. “It was a rough week.”

“Well, this one’s shaping up to be worse,” Jessica said with a huff.

Matt focused on Danny. “Why would she be able to help? She’s a nurse, not a fighter.”

“You haven’t seen her in a while, huh?” he chuckled.

“No?”

“My girlfriend Colleen’s training her, after her run in with the- oh! You’re the one she mentioned! You got her involved in your Hand stuff last year! That’s what that was, the hospital was attacked? She never went into detail.””

Matt ignored most of Danny’s out-loud thinking, and tilted his head. “She’s being trained? She any good?”

“Yeah! She fought the Hand with the two of us. She’s great with a pair of their claws.”

Jessica sounded like she was putting pieces together. “Wait, hold on a second, Claire . . . Claire Temple? The nurse?”

Luke nodded. “Yeah. From when you shot me.”

“Wow. She’s run into all of us, separately? Shitty luck.”

“You weren’t done,” Danny remembered. “What happened after the hospital?”

“Elektra, Stick and I had a couple more fights with the Hand, and in the last one, she died.” Matt said sharply. “That’s about it. I was too preoccupied with not dying and not ruining my life to focus on getting the bigger picture. What happened when you fought them?”

“Well, when I was a teen I was in a plane crash-”

“Quickly, dumbass. Leave out the unimportant shit,” Jessica snapped. “We’re kind of in a time crunch here.”

“Fine. Sorry. Um, the monks who rescued me fight the Hand. As the Iron Fist, it’s my duty to protect K’un-Lun against them. But I came back to New York and fought them here. They had gotten control of Rand Enterprises, and my dad’s dead partner had been resurrected by them. Turns out Madame Gao helped kill my parents and is into the heroin trade, and also Colleen was a part of the Hand but she’s on our side now! Right, um, Bakuto got killed but I think maybe he’s alive, and then the Hand attacked K’un-Lun but it’s gone.”

“I’ve gotten a much more long-winded version of this,” Luke added, “And believe me, it doesn’t make any more sense than the short version.”

Jessica rolled her eyes. “Okay, well, we know the Hand is up to something with Midland Circle. We’ve got to stop it, somehow.”

“You’re in?” Danny asked hopefully.

She groaned. “I guess I don’t really have a choice. I like New York not covered in ninja bullshit.”

Luke sighed, and added, “I am too. It’s not what I signed up for, but . . . I’d rather you three reckless idiots had someone to stand in between you and the swords.”

“Good,” Matt let the devil claw its way a little closer to the surface, and let the grin that terrified criminals sneak onto his face. “Let’s get started. Jessica, you mentioned that the architect-”

He stopped abruptly, tilting his head. Footsteps down the hall caught his attention, and a familiar person approached. “Oh, you gotta be kidding me.” He was covered in blood that drowned out other scents on him, but he thought he caught a whiff of Madame Gao’s jasmine.

The old man’s bitter voice startled the other three out of their seats, and Matt tiredly drew himself up. “This is one shitty excuse for a hideout.”

“Stick,” he said, readying himself for the verbal fight to come.

“Matty.”

“Who the hell are you?” Jessica asked sharply.

“The guy that's gonna help you save New York.”

Matt sighed. “How did you find us, Stick?”

Jessica turned to him with an abrupt movement, air currents swirling with the shift. “You mentioned a Stick earlier, how do you know this guy?”

“It's complicated.”

She hissed. “Then uncomplicate it.”

Danny interrupted before tensions could keep rising. “He's one of them. Aren't you?”

“We call ourselves the Chaste. And we're the only reason the Hand hasn't already won the war.” Stick growled. “We follow the elders of K'un-Lun and the Immortal Iron Fist.”

“The Chaste is my army?” Danny said.

“Was. They're all dead now. Everyone, except me.”

“How come no one told me? Where were you? Why weren’t you protecting K’un-Lun, in the pass?”

Stick shrugged with one arm. “There are things I don't know.”

Matt rolled his eyes, and broke into the conversation. “Why are you here, Stick?”

“Because this one, the Immortal Iron Fist, living weapon and protector of the ancient city, is still a thundering dumbass.” He grabbed Danny’s phone and smashed it, no doubt glaring at all of them while he did it. “New rules, kid. Shit like that will get you killed.”

Danny’s heartbeat became uncertain, and Matt winced. “I- I tried to call Colleen. I told her where I was. Where is she? Is she safe?”

“Safer than we are,” Stick grumbled, before launching into his normal speech. “Small mistakes. Personal ties. These are what they'll use to end you. Now, I need your help.”

Matt laughed humorlessly. “Yeah, here it comes.”

“Here what comes?” Luke asked.

“This is what he does.”

Jessica took a step away from the group. “How do you know him again? You mentioned him earlier and didn’t explain.”

“You saw me fighting? I learned it from him. He comes back into my life every once in a while just to fuck everything up.”

Danny sounded impressed when he interjected, “You're a member of the Chaste?”

“No, uh-uh. I never joined his  _ war _ . It’s what got Elektra killed.”

“She’s back, kid.”

“Bullshit. She died.”

“That’s why I said back. She’s different. I see her again, I’ll put a sword through her myself. She’s working for the Hand as their Black Sky.”

“Like the child you murdered?” Matt felt his fury rising, the devil furious to get out. “What is a Black Sky to make you so sure that they’re not human?”

“Kid, it doesn’t matter right now. Those tremors that shook up the place, they're nothing compared to what comes next. The Hand's done it before. Pompeii, Chernobyl. Events the history books like to call catastrophes, just cover-ups. 'Cause New York is next. And the only thing keeping Manhattan from crumbling to a pile of dust is the four of you.”

Jessica strode over to Stick, her whole body tense like she wanted to punch the old man. “I have one question for you, because you seem like an asshole and I think the four of us can do this without you. Is Murdock human?”

Stick paused, weighing his options, and shook his head. “Dragon. Kid’s a runt though. Can’t even change form.”

Jessica groaned audibly. “If I were to believe this, which I obviously don’t, why do the Hand want dragons?”

“It’s how they resurrect themselves. They use a substance found in dragon bones.”

Luke sighed. “So resurrection is back on the table? How do we beat an army that always comes back to life?

“They’re running out of the substance, dumbass. It’s why Nobu hasn’t cropped back up yet.”

Matt tilted his head in surprise. “Shit.” At the others’ questioning looks, he elaborated. “Nobu was Hand, and he reappeared after I thought he’d died.”

Jessica crossed her arms. “Wait, don’t tell me you’re starting to believe this crap. Dragons? Resurrections? What’s next, Tinkerbell?”

“I don’t know about dragons, but actual resurrections instead of just an ideology would make some things make more sense,” Matt replied.

Stick sounded exasperated at having to actually explain things for once. “Isn’t your whole faith built on the belief that resurrection is real?”

“The Hand isn’t God, Stick. They’re just people.”

Danny sounded like he’d just had a realization. “Bakuto. He’s alive. I thought maybe I just made a mistake thinking he was dead, but if the Hand really can bring people back to life . . . I always thought that was just a story. It’s real?”

“Real as the shit on your shoe, dumbass. You were taught in K’un-Lun and still didn’t believe in this? You saw Shou Lao.”

“There’s a difference between dragons and resurrections!”

Luke sounded incredulous. “ _ That’s _ where you draw the line?” Matt was inclined to agree.

Jessica backed away a step. “This is too weird.”

Stick turned to face her. “And you four are completely normal? You can throw a van across the street.”

“Because of science crap! Not magical mumbo jumbo.”

Matt stepped forward. “That’s enough. Stick, is there any way you can prove it?”

“I could tell you about how you’re always a little warm to the touch, even if you’ve been outside in the cold, or I could tell you that you’re a little stronger and faster than a guy with your muscle mass should be. And what’s the worst you’ve been hurt? It probably should have killed you, right? But it didn’t. You’ve always healed just a little too fast, too. I told you it was the meditation, but even when you weren’t in the right mindset to meditate properly, you still healed faster than a normal person. Right?”

Matt scowled. Yeah, all of that was right. “That doesn’t mean I’m a goddamn dragon.”

Stick sounded like he couldn’t believe he was still having the conversation. “You told your priest that it was the devil inside you, wanting to get out, but you’re wrong. It’s you. You’re a dragon, and you locked up all the instincts that weren’t  _ human _ enough for you.”

Jessica shook her head. “That’s still not proof. Give us facts, asshole.”

“The Iron Fist told you three that he’s seen a dragon, in real life, and you don’t believe him.”

Danny shrugged. “I did point it out when I met Matt. This isn’t a massive prank that I coordinated with you.”

Luke nodded, a little reluctantly. “That is true. And I guess, if there can be aliens pouring through a portal over New York and Norse gods wandering around Earth, dragons could be real.”

“So, what,” Jessica said dryly, “you’re saying Matt’s like Thor?

“A legend with a bit of truth in it? Why not?”

Danny stepped closer to Matt. “What do you think? You believe us?”

Matt closed his eyes and thought about it. “I think . . . I’m open to the possibility. Maybe.”

Stick snorted. “You shouldn’t be. You’re a shitty dragon. I tried to make you shift into your dragon form back when I was training you, and you couldn’t even muster a little steam. No wonder your mother ditched.”

Luke interrupted before Matt could launch himself forward to punch his mentor, the devil in him roaring. “We need to move. If you could find us, so can the Hand.”

“Too late,” a sickly sweet voice said from across the room.

Stick sniffed the air. “Well, I'll be goddamned.”

Behind them, a woman came into the room. Her heart was unnaturally slow, but it had a slight flutter that told Matt she wasn’t going to last for much longer. 

“This wouldn't be my first choice, but I am a sucker for fortune cookies.You know, I thought it would be a good idea if we all talked this over like adults.”

“What do you want, Alexandra?”

“You surprised me, Stick. You've become so resourceful in your old age.”

“What have you become in yours?”

“Determined.” Her hair brushed against her back- she was turning, walking towards Danny. “Mr. Rand, I'm sorry your exit from our meeting was so abrupt.”

Danny’s heart raced, and Matt heard him ball his hands into fists. “You tried to kill us.”

“Oh, them, maybe. Not you. My organization has always had a great deal of respect for the protector of K'un-Lun.”

“Your respect means nothing to me. My only purpose is to take you down.”

“Something you've repeatedly failed to do. Perhaps it's time to consider some . . . alternatives.”

“There are no alternatives.”

“Oh, darling, there are always alternatives. That's what makes life interesting.”

Stick butted in, his voice dry and angry. “Cut the shit, Alexandra. What do you want?”

“The same thing I've always wanted. To bring light into the dark. To bring life where there is death.”

“For all your talk of life, you sure kill a lot of people,” Luke said. His voice was quiet, but strong.

Alexandra’s focus slipped away from Danny and Stick for the first time, and Matt heard her heart stop for a full three seconds.

“Stick, how the hell did you get your hands on a dragon?”

He gritted his teeth. Yet another person saying it? Made it a lot more likely to be true. “I’m not a dragon.”

Stick growled at Alexandra, “He’s not a real dragon. I tried for a goddamn year to get him to change, but he’s a fucking half-breed disappointment. You won’t be able to get to his bones.”

Jessica stepped forward. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but hey! Don’t steal bones!”

Alexandra ignored her, and Matt heard her step backward. “This changes things.”

“Bullshit,” Stick hissed. “I’d rather kill him and keep him in his human body than let you take him and try to change him.”

Danny’s heartbeat spiked, “No one’s killing anyone!”

“Shut up, kid, I’d kill you too instead of letting her have you. If she gets what she wants, New York would be destroyed.”

Alexandra’s voice was calm, but her heartbeat was unsteady. “The two of you need to think this through. Come with me, and I won’t assemble the five fingers of the Hand. New York will live.”

Matt shifted into a fighting stance automatically, the devil in him raging to be let loose at the threat to his home. “Leave New York. This is  _ my _ city.”

When she spoke again, there was forced nonchalance in her voice, layered with disappointment. “Oh, they're just like you, old man. The only language they speak is violence.”

Outside, Matt heard the shifting of Hand fighters, ready to pour into the room in waves. He tilted his head, and caught movement right outside the door, a split-second before it moved to kick in the door. A shockwave of power ripped through the door and cabinets blocking it, sending splinters of wood flying.

The figure stalked forward, twin blades at its sides, and Matt’s jaw dropped. “Elektra?”

She didn’t have a heartbeat.

Alexandra cleared her throat. “There’s been a change in plans. The Iron fist is still necessary, but in addition, the dragon is to be captured alive and intact. Now, my child, serve life itself.”

“Please, this isn’t you, you’re” Matt started to say. Before he could try to talk her out of the murder, a man crashed through the skylight, and the room burst into motion.

Elektra hurtled toward Matt, and he traded blows with her, his mind racing. What could he say to stop her?

Danny and Luke were occupied with the man from the roof, and if Matt’s senses were accurate, Stick and Jessica had split off to fight Alexandra. 

Matt caught Elektra in a hold. “You died.” Another punch, a swing. “I held you in my arms.”

She threw him over a shoulder and kicked him as he stumbled backward. “I buried you, Elektra!”

At the sound of her name, she paused, and Matt lost track of the sounds in the background. “Elektra. That’s your name,” he said softly.

She stayed still, and he slowly edged closer. “What have they done to you?”

The man at the other end of the room broke through their reverie with a furious shout in Japanese. At the words, Elektra’s muscles tensed, giving Matt just enough warning to throw himself backwards out of arm’s reach.

She moved forward with renewed speed, and Matt snarled in frustration at the interruption.

“Elektra, wait!” It didn’t change her onslaught of fists, and Matt barely lasted ten seconds before she jabbed him with a dart from the hidden pockets of her outfit. His world on fire blurred, and he stumbled backwards. “No, Elektra, don’t-” He didn’t finish before falling into unconsciousness.


	3. Chapter Two: In Which Matt Gets A Little Less Confused

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "The sounds of New York didn’t filter in slowly as Matt woke up, they hit him like a train running over a bug. He couldn’t mask his wince at the sensory information, though, and Elektra’s voice pierced the haze of noise and sound and smell mixing together.  
> 'Hello, Matthew.'"

Jessica and Stick came back into the room, bloody and grim, and found Danny alone against the man from the skylight.

“A little help here?”

Between the three of them, Murakami didn’t last long. At the first chance he got, Stick sliced off the Hand leader’s head, and grinned. “Two down, three to go.”

“For us or them?” Danny said in frustration. “They took Luke and Matt!”

“Shit,” Jessica said, taking in the room. “How?”

“Elektra got Matt with a sleeping dart. After she left with him, another man came in. Luke went to fight him, but I was busy with this one. I didn’t see what happened, they both vanished.”

“We killed Alexandra and Murakami,” Stick said, kicking the body to punctuate his point. “Let’s get out of here before they send their average fighters against us.”

When they burst through the door of the dojo, Jessica was only dimly aware of Danny and Colleen’s reunion through her anger.

“We’ve got to get them back.”

“No shit,” Stick drawled. “I figured we’d just leave Matty there to be tortured.”

Jessica rolled her eyes and stomped over to the lovebirds, where Colleen was asking, “How do you know they didn’t follow you here?”

“We’re clear,” Stick said. “I know how to spot them, and they weren’t on our trail on the way over here. But no place we land will stay safe for long.”

Danny paced, checking the windows and exits. “We can't keep running forever.”

“I'm not running, period,” Jessica growled, “I’m getting our friends back.”

“My company owns a building not far from here.”

Jessica shook her head at his suggestion. “We don't need another hideout. We just need for this to be over.”

“That’s going to be hard with only four of us,” Colleen said angrily. “Goddamn Hand.”

Jessica’s scowl deepened, and the stream of curses in her head got louder. “I can’t wait to punch whatever Hand asshole we see next.”

A rattling and the heavy sound of boots came from outside, and she smirked viciously. “Good. Here comes one now.”

They waited for the door to burst open, but it opened quietly.

They all gawked. “Luke?” Danny said in surprise.

Jessica strode towards him. “Are you okay?”

“I'm fine,” he said with a proud smile. “Actually, I'm better than fine.” He led them down to the van, and threw open the white doors. “I got one of theirs.”

Stick brought them to a safe warehouse. Colleen tied Sowande to the chair and retreated back into the rough semicircle.

Danny glanced at the Hand leader questioningly. “How long do you think he'll be out?”

“Not much longer,” Jessica replied.

He frowned. “How do you know?”

“Because this is happening.” She punched him, and relished the small release of anger on the asshole who was threatening her city. It drained back out of her when the man grinned, as if a chair surrounded by people who hated his guts was exactly where he wanted to be.

“What are you doing in New York?” Danny asked.

“There's nothing you can do to make me betray my own.”

Jessica cracked her knuckles. “I'm up for the challenge.”

“Don't bother.” Stick grumbled. “The fingers were cast out of K'un-Lun. Which means he trained with the same monks that raised him.”

Luke crossed his arms. “So?”

“They put us through brutal trials. He won’t crack. Not by force.”

Sowande’s posture was relaxed. “You know nothing of the power of the Hand. You are mice who fell into a well. Believe me, this will drown you.”

“What do you want with New York?” Jessica asked.

“This place has always belonged to the Hand. Your little dragon friend’s attempt at claiming his territory won’t change that.”

Luke chose to ignore the dragon barb and homed in on a separate part of the answer. “What do you mean, always?”

“I traced it back to 1820,” Jessica said. “For my case.”

“That's all?”

Danny took a step forward. “Why do you want Matt and I? Nothing you can do can make me serve you.”

Sowande chuckled. “We don’t care about you. We want the Fist. You are nothing. Danny Rand failed an entire city. The place he was sworn to protect. The same way the unbreakable one let that boy die in a jail cell. Afraid and alone. The same way the woman couldn't save the architect.”

Jessica scoffed and walked away, but he continued. “What's wrong? Have I gotten in your head the same way he did long ago?”

She spun and lunged for him, but Luke caught her, softly saying, “Hey, hey, hey.” It didn’t work to stop the rage, but she backed off.

“What about the ones you still love? What will become of them once you are gone? Who else must die because of you?”

Luke frowned. “What are you talking about?”

“The nurse. The woman on the radio. They'll come for them next. How many mice must drown with you?”

The others stood, frozen, but Jessica moved. One punch, and Sowande was unconscious. No one argued when she added, “He talked too much.”

Stick sighed. “I told Matty. Attachments make you vulnerable.”

“Shit, he’s got friends too,” Jessica growled. “Which of his friends would the Hand target? We need to get them to safety too.”

Stick rolled his eyes. “Those two blondes from his old job. Franklin Nelson and Karen Page.”

“I’ll get them after I get Trish and Malcolm.”

“I need to go get Claire,” Luke added.

“Danny, Colleen, anyone you guys know?”

They shook their heads. Colleen added, “I’ll go with Luke as a lookout, Danny, you go with Jessica. Where will we take them?”

Luke shrugged. “The police station?”

“No,” Danny said. “They’d go through cops like tissue paper if they made an attempt to kill your families.”

Jessica straightened. “Oh! Trish’s place! She built a bunker in it.”

The others nodded, and Stick interrupted. “I’ll stay and guard Sowande. You four, go. Fast.”   
  


Jessica grabbed Trish from the restaurant and narrowly avoided being stabbed. She and Danny fought off Bakuto, but he vanished before they could do any harm.

“Shit, now we have to go convince someone else’s friends to follow us to a stranger’s apartment.”

Jessica tracked down Nelson’s apartment, and glared at the door. “This isn’t going to go well.”

She knocked, and when Foggy opened the door, she scowled. “Murdock’s friend is one of Hogarth’s lawyers?”

Danny grinned. “You know Jeri?”

“Sorry, who are you three?” the lawyer interrupted. “How do you know Matt?”

“He ever tell you about the Hand?”

The lawyer’s friendly face immediately shifted into a courtroom stare. “What’s going on?”

“You do know about the Hand,” Jessica said. “I assume that also means you know about his stupid costume?”

Nelson’s guard dropped like an elevator with its cables cut. “Fuck, is he okay?”

“He’s been taken. By Elektra.”

“But she’s dead!”

“Not anymore. Resurrected and working for the Hand.”

“ _ Fuck _ ,” he said again. “So why are you here and not looking for him?”

“Gotta get you somewhere safe. The Hand’s coming after people we love.”

He nodded, and opened the door to them. “Let me just grab a couple things.”

Danny headed right for the windows, checking for anyone following them, and Trish and Jessica stood awkwardly in the center of the living room. “When was the last time you saw him? Where?” Nelson asked as he scooped up two files.

“About an hour ago, in between Chinatown and Hell’s Kitchen. Restaurant called the Royal Dragon- wait.”

Danny’s eyes widened. “Weird coincidence.”

“That’s all it is.”

Nelson shot them a glare as he grabbed his computer and charger. “What coincidence?”

Danny opened his mouth to tactfully launch into an explanation that would no doubt include way too much magic for Foggy, but Jessica beat him to it. “You buddy’s a dragon, supposedly.”

“Not supposedly! He’s a dragon, for sure!”

The lawyer stared at them. “You’re joking.”

“Nope. Dead serious. Come on, we don’t have time for this,” Jessica grumbled. “We’ll explain more on the way to pick up Page. Do you know where she’d be?”

“Um, probably still at the Bulletin?”

“Let’s go.”

In the car, Nelson jumped into the cross-examination. “Why do you think he’s a dragon?”

Jessica sighed and let Danny handle it. “I’ve met a dragon before, and Matt’s chi feels just like it. Plus Stick said he was a dragon, and then when one of the leaders of the Hand saw him, she called him a dragon, too. It’s why they took him.”

Nelson was quiet for another few seconds, processing Danny’s rush of words, and Trish interjected. “Uh, Jessica, who is this guy?”

“Oh, right. Trish, meet Danny Rand, the metal finger or whatever.”

“The Iron Fist!”

“I don’t care,” Jessica growled.

Nelson looked like he’d been punched. “Oh my god, that’s why-” He cut himself off when he remembered the others there, and shook his head. “Doesn’t matter. I think I might actually believe you. There’s no way Karen will, though.”

“Doesn’t matter,” she said sharply. “We just need her to come with us.”

At the bulletin, Nelson went up with Danny, and Jessica stayed to keep the car running and protect Trish. When the trio emerged, Page looked angry, but scared, and Nelson was walking close to her. Jessica drove them to Trish’s apartment with a loose interpretation of traffic laws, and ditched the Hand’s car a block away.

Once they were upstairs, Luke, Claire, and Colleen glanced up. “Took you long enough,” Claire grumbled. “Good to see you, Foggy.”

“Our mutual friend’s got himself kidnapped,” he told her immediately.

“I know, Luke told me.”

He gave a perfunctory wave to the man, but went right back to talking to Claire. “Apparently he’s a dragon.”

She snorted. “That would explain a lot of his bullshit.”

Page coughed pointedly, and Foggy winced. “Sorry. Um, Karen, this is Claire. She’s a nurse. I met her because of Matt’s . . . you know.”

“He was in my dumpster.”

Karen laughed despite the situation, and looked guilty as hell afterward. “You’ll have to tell me that story.”

“I’m sure we’ll have time while we’re sitting in a mysterious bunker.”

Trish unlocked her apartment and led them towards the back into her safe room. “Steel reinforced door, bulletproof windows. No one gets in here unless I let them in.”

“Great. You guys have fun. I’m going to go punch a guy until he tells me where Murdock is,” Jessica said, turning to go.

“Wait, hold on.” Trish looked worried, and she hesitated, as if looking for the right words. “Just . . . Be careful.”

Jessica nodded and left, followed by Luke, Danny, and Colleen.

It had already been five hours since Matt was taken.

The sounds of New York didn’t filter in slowly as Matt woke up, they hit him like a train running over a bug. He couldn’t mask his wince at the sensory information, though, and Elektra’s voice pierced the haze of noise and sound and smell mixing together.

“Hello, Matthew.”

Matt groaned at the headache forming, and stood up, aching all over. “Elektra, what the hell-”

“I remember.”

He tilted his head. Still no heartbeat. She could be lying- but why would she? “Remember what?”

“You. Me. Alexandra did her best to erase my previous lifetime.”

“So that’s why you came after us.”

“In the restaurant, my memories were still coming back. I couldn’t remember who I needed to fight. I just knew that you could explain more, so I took you. We need to talk.”

“Are you still confused?”

“No. But I’m not interested in the fight, either. The Hand already killed me once.”

“So why am I still here?”

“I knew you were a dragon.” Before Matt could protest, she admitted, “I’m one too. All the Black Skies are.”

“Wait, what? Am I a Black Sky?”

“No, Matthew. Black Skies are created when a dragon is taken and twisted. When the Hand resurrected me, they made me a Black Sky. We’re living weapons, and when our usefulness ends, they can use our bones for their resurrections.”

“Shit, Elektra,” Matt said, shaking his head. “I guess you’re not using dragon metaphorically.”

She laughed, and in an instant, his world on fire shifted. She was the size of a bus, and burned with warmth and fire.

“Elektra?”

“Yes?” she rumbled.

He tilted his head in an attempt to reconcile the contrasting radar, and gave up. She was a mess of scales and claws and teeth and wings and he couldn’t focus enough with his head still spinning to figure it out. “Could- um, could you please go back?”

Her deep laughter changed with her, slipping from a dragon’s voice into the body of a human. “Of course, Matthew. Is this better?”

“How the hell did you do that?”

“I don’t know. It’s just an instinct,” she shrugged. “I kind of pull, like putting on a coat.”

Matt stepped closer to her, and sighed. “You’re leaving, aren’t you?”

“I am.”

“Where?”

“I don’t know yet.”

“You could stay.”

Elektra placed a hand on his arm, and her voice was tinged with sadness when she spoke. “Matthew, I don’t belong in New York, and you don’t belong anywhere else.”

He nodded. It was the truth. “I will see you again.”

“Perhaps.” Her voice was back to its usual unruffled calm. “I’m glad you found more people like you.”

“Who?”

“The ones you were with in the restaurant. More heroes.”

“I’m not a hero.”

“You didn’t think you were a dragon, either. I’ve learned my lesson- I won’t, I  _ can’t _ change who you are. You’ll never be a killer. And, Matthew?”

“What?”

“Be careful. A dragon without a hoard isn’t stable. You need Foggy and Karen back, or to find new ones.”

“Why?”

“The less you have, the easier it is for the Hand to twist you into something you’re not. The easier it is to change without them helping you along.”

“What’s your- your hoard?”

She laughed. “Black Skies don’t have hoards. We don’t have territory. I’m barely a dragon anymore.”

“You can find one,” Matt said, the devil, the  _ dragon _ in him roaring in anger that another like him had been hurt that way. “You will.”

“I don’t hoard people,” she warned. “I hoard weapons. But I can have as many as I can carry, and still not have a hoard.”

“Because of what the Hand did.”

“I’ll find my way back to being a dragon one day. I have time.”

“Shit, how much time? Am I going to outlive my friends?”

Elektra laughed. “Now we’re getting into the details. No, if you spend most of your time in human skin, you’ll just be a pretty healthy old person. But the more time you spend in dragon form, the longer you’ll live. I heard of a sea serpent that stayed in his dragon form for most of the time, and lived to be six hundred.”

“Shit.”

“I was born in 1922, Matthew.”

His jaw dropped, and she actually giggled. “I know, I look rather good for my age. When the stock market crashed, I decided to just go to sleep in my dragon skin instead of struggling to feed myself. Stick found me decades later, woke me up, and trained me.”

“You slept through half the twentieth century?”

“Why not? What did I really miss? World War II? The Cold War? I’m much more comfortable in the 2000s.”

Matt shook his head in amazement, and searched desperately for any more questions he could ask. When he was done, she would leave. “Um, do you know who my mom was? Apparently she was a dragon.”

“I have an idea. If I manage to confirm it, I promise I’ll tell you.”

“Thank you.”

“You should be getting back to your friends. You were asleep for four hours.”

He nodded reluctantly. “I know. I’ll see you again.” She stepped back, and he trudged out of the building.

Behind him, he heard a whisper of a sigh, followed by, “Goodbye, Matthew.”

When Matt oriented himself within the city, he realized he was on the opposite side of Hell’s Kitchen from Midland Circle. He ducked into the nearest alley with a fire escape, and took to the rooftops. He needed- he needed his suit, and to make sure that Foggy and Karen were safe, and to find the Stick and the others. One thing at a time.

His apartment was close enough for him to sneak in and change out of his scuffed suit and jacket into his original vigilante costume, minus the blindfold, which he shoved in a pocket. He kept the clubs Melvin had designed for him strapped to his side. He was in and out in a flash, and raced over the rooftops back to the restaurant. He dropped to the ground a block away in a deserted alley. Police buzzed around the scene, and Matt winced. He’d have to avoid them while trying to find the trail.

He circled the restaurant and caught the scent of Jessica, Danny, and Stick. He tracked it to a building in Chinatown, and grinned. That’s where they found another person, Luke, and someone Luke had been with. He followed them to a warehouse, but before he entered, he took a second to listen.

“You have two options. You tell me where I can find Murdock, or I break your face,” Jessica threatened.

“Do what you want. I will not break.”

“We’ll see if you’re still singing the same tune when I break off your toes and feed them to you!  _ Where is Matt? _ ”

He figured there wouldn’t be any better cue, and strolled into the large and mostly empty room. “I’m right here.”

“Fuck,” Jessica gasped. “Where the hell were you?”

Matt tilted his head and counted five people, excluding the man being interrogated. “Who are the new people?”

The woman stepped forward. “I’m Colleen Wing. I assume you’re Matt Murdock?”

He nodded, and pointed at the man in the chair. “And him?”

“Sowande. African warlord, gunrunner, you name it,” Stick interjected. “Glad you’re not dead, kid. Is Elektra?”

Matt shook his head. “No. She’s out of the fight. We need to get our friends to safety.”

“Already done,” Jessica said. “Nelson and Page are with the others.”

Matt sighed in relief, and refocused on the man in the chair. “I need some information.”

“He’s not talking,” Luke said, arms crossed. He sounded calm, but his body was tense with frustration.

Matt glared at Sowande. “I'm gonna make this real simple. Answer our questions, or I will fuck you up.”

He chuckled. “What do they call you? The Devil of Hell's Kitchen? Even if you could kill me, it wouldn't make a difference. Cut off a finger, you can still use your hand. We will win. We have armies.”

“Forget armies. I want to know what exactly you did to Elektra to make her a Black Sky.”

“She is beyond your reach.”

“So, you don’t know.”

“She was Alexandra’s little experiment. Whatever was done to her is locked in the mind of a dead woman. Unless,” he said, with a sickening grin, “that death is reversed.” 

Matt rolled his eyes. “You don’t know. Alright.” He tilted his head toward Jessica. “Would you do the honors?” She nodded and punched the Hand member, and the one swift movement was enough to knock him out.

“Stick, you’ve got to teach me how to change into a dragon. If I can control it, I can keep the Hand from getting me to change on accident.”

Stick shifted in place, signaling his annoyance. “Solid reasoning, except you  _ can’t change _ . I couldn’t get you to when you were a kid, why would you be able to now?”

“Gee, Stick, I wonder. Maybe because I didn’t know I was a dragon when I was eleven!”

Nearby, Luke and Jessica’s heartbeats spiked.

Luke talked first. “The training you mentioned- it was when you were  _ eleven _ ?”

Jessica turned away from the small group. “Jesus.”

“What’s wrong with that?” Danny asked. “Kids have an easier time learning new skills.”

Luke sounded like he was revisiting every conversation they’d had in the past twelve hours. “In K’un-Lun, those brutal trials you mentioned, were those when you were a teenager?”

“Yeah? So?” Danny shrugged. He wandered over towards Sowande, presumably to check he was still unconscious.

Jessica’s voice was sharp. “You two are  _ child soldiers _ ?”

Matt barked out a laugh. “No, I wasn’t, he left before he could finish training me.”

She turned toward Stick, fist raised, but Luke caught her arm. “There’ll be time for this later.”

Matt nodded. “The Hand is-”

Danny shouted, and the group turned as one. The chair was empty.

Sowande was gone.


	4. Chapter Three: In Which Matt & Co. Actually Get Shit Done

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Luke nodded. 'So how do we figure out what’s at the bottom of Midland Circle?'  
> Jessica snapped her fingers. 'My client’s husband. The architect. He designed the place, I bet he knows what’s down there. Matt, you and I’ll go talk to my client. Luke, you and Danny stay here on standby.'  
> Danny slumped. 'Why Matt? I want to go do something.'  
> 'He’s a lawyer and a human lie detector, genius,' she snapped. 'He’s more helpful when looking for information than a dude who spent a decade in a monastery.'"

“Shit,” Jessica said angrily. “What do we do now?”

Matt focused on the big problem. “There’s something in the pit under Midland Circle, right?”

“The what?” Luke asked, voice covered in skepticism.

“The pit- did I not mention that? I told you guys, Elektra and I went to Midland Circle and found a really big pit.”

Jessica crossed her arms. “No, moron, you didn’t tell us about a pit.”

“Oh. Sorry. A lot was going on that day. It’s a hole, hundreds of feet deep. And, well, it was  _ really  _ unsettling.” He nearly shivered at the memory. “Like it was disrupting something that shouldn’t be messed with. Of course, then the Hand attacked so I didn’t get a chance to figure out what was at the bottom, but still. I bet it has something to do with why they want Danny.”

Luke nodded. “So how do we figure out what’s at the bottom?”

Jessica snapped her fingers. “My client’s husband. The architect. He designed the place, I bet he knows what’s down there. Matt, you and I’ll go talk to my client. Luke, you and Danny stay here on standby.”

Danny slumped. “Why Matt? I want to go do something.”

“He’s a lawyer and a human lie detector, genius,” she snapped. “He’s more helpful when looking for information than a dude who spent a decade in a monastery.”

Stick interrupted, for the first time since Sowande vanished. “No can do. I need Matty here to train him in how to avoid changing.”

Matt glared. “How would you know, anyway? You a dragon too? Like Elektra?”

“Don’t be an idiot, kid. If I were a dragon, I’d already be dead. The Chaste kills anything the Hand tries to use. You and Ellie were the two exceptions, and look how that turned out.”

Danny’s heart stuttered, and he sounded gutted. “You kill dragons?”

“The Hand is willing to tear New York apart to get to you,” he scoffed. “They’d do even more for dragon bones.”

Jessica’s heartbeat spiked. “Oh, shit.”

“What?” Matt asked.

“What if it’s the same thing?”

Matt made the connection instantly. “Shit.”

“What?” Danny said in confusion, glancing between the two. “What are you talking about?”

Jessica sighed. “Apparently all the Hand cares about is immortality and power. Power they get through crime, but they don’t need you for crime. For immortality, they need dragon bones. But what if they need you to  _ get _ dragon bones?”

Matt nodded, and added, “That’s what’s at the bottom of the pit. It’s why it felt so wrong.”

Luke’s voice was resolute. “We need to keep them from getting to it.”

Jessica’s heartbeat spiked again, and Matt winced. Whatever her newest revelation was, it didn’t sound good. “Shit. The C4. The architect was gonna blow it up.”

That definitely wasn’t good. “We can’t blow up a whole building.”

Jessica shook her head. “This is not happening. They’ll arrest us for  _ domestic terrorism _ . No way.”

Stick shrugged. “Blowing it up would cut the head off the snake. We’re doing it.”

Danny glanced between them helplessly. “Guys, we’ve got to end the Hand, one way or another.”

Luke sounded angry for the first time since Matt had known him. “We’re here to save lives, not take them!”

Stick wasn’t impressed. “They’re not really alive, dumbass.”

“Nope,” Jessica decided. “Three to two. No goddamn bombs in the middle of a city. Too many people would get hurt.”

“What do we do then?” Danny asked.

Matt shrugged. “We fight. Stick can teach me how to turn into a dragon, so we would have that going for us. They won’t kill me, they need me alive to turn me into a Black Sky.”

Jessica groaned. “Ugh, these names are killing me. A what?”

“Shit, sorry. Um, it’s what you get when the Hand fucks up a dragon. Elektra was turned into a Black Sky. I’m pretty sure the Hand doesn’t want me dead yet.”

Danny shrugged. “Sounds good. Figure out your powers. I can stay and meditate with you, and Jessica, Luke, and Stick can go by the apartment and get Colleen and Claire. We’ll need all the help we can get.

“We’re wasting time. I don’t care who you’re fucking. Let’s go.”

“Shut up, Stick,” Matt growled. “We still need a plan for afterwards, and you have to tell me how to change into a dragon.”

Stick scoffed. “No, kid, you shut up. I’m still not convinced I shouldn’t just kill you and the Iron Fist right here.”

Luke stepped closer to Stick. “You trained him when he was a kid and you’re willing to murder him?”

“I’ve almost done it before.”

Matt tilted his head. Stick’s heartbeat said it was the truth, but he couldn’t remember a time when Stick could have killed him. “That time we fought in my apartment?”

“Nah. That was just because you’re dumb as shit. It was when Ellie showed up. I figured I’d take out both of you, keep the Hand from getting you. I should have done it, look what happened to her.”

“What changed your mind?” Matt asked.

“What do you want me to tell you, that I suddenly wanted you after all these years? That I decided you weren’t a disappointment? You were more useful alive. Now, that’s uncertain again. We’ll see how tonight goes.”

Jessica cut in, anger in her voice. “So, we’re not leaving him alone with Danny or Matt.”

Luke nodded. “Sounds about right.”

“Stick, just tell me how to change and go get the others.”

He heaved a sigh. “Every dragon does it differently. You’ve got to figure it out yourself. The dragon I talked to said it was like a well. He could draw up a little bit of power for strength or fire or healing, or he could hop in and fully change. He’s the only dragon I've talked to, but he told me that the biggest part is accepting both sides. Bunch of bullshit if you ask me, but maybe it’ll help you. You always were a baby.”

“Great. Helpful as always, Stick.”

“You’re probably already drawing on your dragon half to heal faster. Start with meditation.”

Matt rolled his eyes, but nodded. ‘Move fast. The Hand is probably looking for you.”

After the others left, Matt tried fruitlessly for the thirty minutes they were gone to change into a dragon. Nothing worked. He gave up when they got back and trudged over to Claire.

She opened the conversation. “It’s good to see you again, Matt. Just wish it was under better circumstances.”

“There are no better circumstances,” he said with a dry laugh. “It’s why we stopped talking.”

“Then I got caught up with even more vigilante types. I know.”

He tilted his head at her, and couldn’t stop himself from asking, “You’re happy with Luke?”

“Yeah. I am.” Her heartbeat said it was the truth.

Matt gave her a genuine grin. “Good.”

“How’s Foggy?”

“I uh. I don’t know,” Matt winced. “We haven’t really been talking since the Punisher case fell apart. You’ve seen him more recently than me. Is he doing well?”

She nodded, and her breath caught like she couldn’t decide whether or not to say anything. “Um, Matt, I don’t know much of what happened to you last year, but it seems like you’re not doing great. You need your friends.”

“I can’t _ force _ him to talk to me. He doesn’t want to be a part of this anymore, okay? That’s that. You made the same choice.”

She flinched at that, and her voice grew steely. “I get the point. But, you know, you might have found some new friends. Don’t push them away.

Matt shook his head. “They’re not mine.”

“That a dragon thing?”

“Not everything’s a dragon thing!” he protested. “But um. Elektra might have mentioned that some dragons have people as their hoard, instead of gold or whatever dragons do in stories.”

She laughed, and shook her head. “Like I told Foggy, you being a dragon explains so much of your weird shit.”

“He knows?”

“Yeah, I think Jessica told him. He’s the one who told me.”

Matt grimaced. “Did he say what he thought about it?”

“Relax, Matt. He just seemed worried. He believed it though, far as I could tell. I didn’t, until I saw you again, but you’ve definitely got something weird about you.”

“You were . . . I think you were part of my hoard,” he said, with a wince at the strangeness of the statement.

He waited for her to get annoyed about being a part of a hoard, but she just crossed her arms and snorted. “Damn right I was. You need all the sensible people you can get.”

Matt grinned at her. “I bet you and Foggy would get along really well if there weren’t creepy death ninjas in the way.”

“He seems like a good guy.”

“The best.”

She left to go chat with Luke, and Matt retreated back to a column to sit and meditate. He centered himself, and began to block out the influx of sensory information a piece at a time. He focused on the quiet, endless hum of the lightbulb above his head, and used it to tune out the other noises around him. First the chatter of the other six people slipped into the background, then the endless honking and yelling of the streets, though the warehouse they were in was in a quieter, less bustling part of Hell’s Kitchen.

He briefly remembered Stick’s words, but discarded the ‘advice’ fairly quickly. What did Matt know about dragons? Their hoards. He let Claire’s heartbeat seep into the hum of the bulb, and felt the dragon notice. It wasn’t the devil in him. It was just him, and he wanted to protect the people he loved. He followed that instinct, letting it bring him closer to the dragon.

There was an inferno raging deep in his chest, in his mind, in his  _ soul _ , and he flinched away from it. He crept closer to the heat and movement and sound of crackling sparks, and to his surprise, the flames felt warm, not hot. They felt like a  _ home _ . Matt reached towards the edge of the blaze, and the flames trailed behind in his wake.

This was what Stick was grumbling about. The dragon with the well- this was the same, just a different feeling. He could use as much or as little as he wanted.

Matt slipped into the comfortable fire, and felt himself expand and grow. He curled into a content pile of scales and wings, and ignored the racing pulses of the others in the room. New York’s noises came seeping back into his awareness, and he sighed happily, the rumble filling the room and bouncing all the silhouettes back in sharp detail. 

The boost to his already sophisticated echolocation reminded him to take stock of his other senses. His ability to smell and hear was stronger, but his size decreased his ability to discern details with his sense of touch. He would struggle to read Braille as a dragon, and the already difficult task of sensing flat ink in the shapes of letters on a page would be impossible. Matt tilted his head a little, enjoying the flexibility of his long neck, and assessed his new shape. He had four legs and two wings, and opposable claws on his front legs. Arms? He wasn’t sure. It wouldn’t be convenient for tasks that required dexterity, especially not at first, but it was a body suited for movement and flight, and Matt was itching to test it.

When he heard Stick speak, he nearly shook his head to check his ears. The old man sounded almost  _ proud _ . “Shit, kid, you actually managed it.”

“He’s so small!” Danny gasped.

Matt couldn’t tell if Jessica was more surprised at his change or Danny’s reaction. “Small? He’s the size of a van,  _ and _ he’s all curled up and shit!”

“Shou-Lao was like, twice this size. And he didn’t have legs, why does Matt?”

Stick was back to his normal, annoyed self. “Dragons adapt to their environment, dumbass. This is a New York dragon. Shou-Lao lived in the middle of the mountains. He’s probably still growing. And Matt definitely is.”

Luke crossed his arms, probably to stay calm. “Can you talk?”

Matt nodded, and curled deeper into his coils. Jessica strode up to him and stared into his eyes. “Could I touch your scales?”

He nodded again, and she ran her fingers along the surface. “You want me to describe them?” 

“Yes, please,” he said. He stumbled over the words in the unfamiliar body, but she just shrugged.

“You’re a really deep red, like- like when you cut yourself and it dries a little? But when you angle your scales the right way, there’s a shine of- really dark blues or purples? There’s grey in there, too.”

She hesitated, and added, “Also, you’re, um. You’re really warm, but a nice kind of warm.”

Matt heard a low rumbling, and before he could pinpoint the source, Jessica started laughing under her breath. “Dude, you’re purring. Like a cat.”

Foggy was never going to let him forget this- if Foggy and him ever resolved their fight. The comfort from figuring out being a dragon slipped away at the thought, and he shifted his coils enough for Jessica to get the message and pull away.

He changed back into a human, and even though he couldn’t see the other people’s faces, the lack of conversation made him uncomfortably aware of all the eyes on him.

“I figured it out,” he offered lamely.

“We kinda got that,” Luke replied.

All but Stick’s heart was racing, and Matt wasn’t sure what the reason was. Danny, he was pretty sure, was just really happy to see a dragon, but the others could have been surprised, or excited, or scared.

He hoped they weren’t scared.

Colleen broke the silence. “What the hell, Danny, you fought Shou-Lao, and he was  _ even bigger _ ?”

“Yeah,” he said, his usual delight dimmed at the sound of frustration. “It was fine.”

“You absolute  _ moron. _ ”

“Hey!”

“Glad you figured it out. We could definitely use the extra firepower in a fight,” Jessica said, ignoring the bickering of the couple nearby. “Those talons looked sharp.”

Matt shrugged uncomfortably. “I guess.”

“Who exactly  _ are _ we fighting?” Claire asked hesitantly. “The Hand? The leaders of the Hand? Because I can probably take a grunt or two, but I don’t know about people that have been alive for centuries.”

“We’ve got to make sure to kill the remaining fingers,” Stick said. “We took out Murakami and Alexandra, but the other three are still out there. If they die, the rest of the Hand will retreat. I’ll have enough time to find where the rest of the Chaste are hiding. I guarantee the Hand couldn’t find them all.”

Matt nodded in agreement, but something on the fringes of his hearing caught his attention. A sword. “Shit. Bakuto is here.”

“Any of the others?” Claire asked as she strapped on her claws.

He shook his head.

“Murdock.” His voice cut through the room clean and clear. “I come with a message from the three of us left. We want to make a deal with you.”

“What the hell could you possibly want that we’d be willing to give you?”

“Simple. We will leave your territory for good, and in exchange, we will take you with us.”

Matt laughed. “Seriously? You think I’m going to fall for that?”

“I think you should listen.”

He tilted his head, taking the advice literally, and froze when two new people came into his range. He said through gritted teeth, “Let. Him. Go.”

“I would be happy to. His death would mean nothing to me. However, I am afraid that I require something in exchange for his life.”

“What’s going on?” Jessica asked sharply. “Share with the class.”

“Sowande has Foggy.”

“Don’t get soft now, kid,” Stick warned.

Matt growled, and felt the fire building up within himself. “ _ Give him back _ .”

Bakuto was unmoved. “I’ve set the terms. You, in exchange for your friends and New York’s safety. Your choice. I will wait outside for fifteen minutes for you to say your goodbyes.”

Matt bit his lip and nodded. “Okay.”

“No!” Danny interrupted. “You can’t trust any of them to hold to a deal! I’ve been down this road with Gao, it doesn’t work.”

“I’m not Gao,” Bakuto replied calmly.

Stick tightened his grip on his katana. “Go with him, and I kill you. I’ve been telling you all along. Nelson will make you weak.”

Matt ignored him and stepped forward. He growled, “If I do this and you hurt him, I will  _ incinerate _ you.”

He nodded at the vigilantes in acknowledgment and walked out of the warehouse to where Foggy and Sowande waited in a van. Matt went to follow him, and Jessica grabbed his arm.

“Don’t make me do this,” she sighed.

Matt paused. “Don’t you have anyone you would surrender for?”

“Damnit, Murdock, we can  _ fix this _ !”

The fire curled around his throat and he let out a dangerous sounding growl. “I’m going.”

Jessica’s heartbeat didn’t waver. “Don’t be a moron.”

He slipped out of her grip and swept his leg under hers, sending her crashing to the floor. “Sorry. For what it’s worth, I really am glad I met you guys.”

Matt was blocked by Luke and Danny before he could make it past two steps. “Move. You’d do the same for Claire or Colleen.”

Luke shrugged. “Maybe. Maybe not. Doesn’t matter. We can’t let you leave.”

Danny made a minute gesture that Matt couldn’t figure out, and Luke nodded. Shit. He felt Danny’s chi humming, and the tension that warned him of an incoming fist. He got ready to dodge, but Danny hit Luke.

The shockwave blew them all apart, and Matt clapped his hands over his ringing ears as he skidded backwards. He couldn’t hear- couldn’t  _ see _ . Everything was shaking. He slipped into his dragon form automatically, and his world on fire clicked back into place.

Just in time to catch Jessica stomping over to punch him.

He batted her hand away with a careful claw, and even though her heartbeat jumped, she stood her ground. “Fuck. I don’t want to fight a goddamn dragon, but I will. We don’t trade lives.”

He snorted and just walked past her, ignoring her punches. What would have thrown his human body across the room just felt like a normal blow.

Claire whispered, knowing he could hear her at that level. “I’m not going to pretend I’m okay with this, but I won’t try to stop you. Keep Foggy safe, but keep yourself safe too.” She kept a firm hand on Colleen’s shoulder, warning her against jumping into the skirmish, and Matt nodded at her.

Stick was the last one in his way, and Matt hissed at him. “Are you going to try to kill me right here?”

“Nah, kid, I figure I’ll wait until you’re back in your human body. Small dragon bones are still dragon bones. But I  _ will _ kill you.”

Matt snorted and brushed past him. At the exit, he slipped out in human form, and Bakuto nodded at him. “Get in the van, and we’ll let Nelson out.”

He glared at him, but did as he said. A Hand soldier opened the back doors and shoved him inside, where Foggy’s heartbeat filled his ears. “Are you okay?”

“What the fuck are you  _ doing _ ?” his friend hissed at him, ignoring the knife at his throat.

“You know the deal,” he told Sowande. “Let him go.”

He lifted the knife and shoved Foggy forward. “Get out.”

“Matt-”

“I’m sorry. For everything.”

The Hand closed the door behind Foggy, and Matt tilted his head to listen to him leave.

They clearly had underestimated his talents, because he could hear the stretching of a bowstright clear as day, and he burst out of the van and tackled Foggy to the ground as the Hand soldier loosed the arrow. Matt grinned in bloody satisfaction when it whistled over his head and embedded itself in Sowande.

He shifted into his dragon skin, still keeping Foggy covered, and turned to the dying man. “You tried to hurt my friend.” 

Matt exhaled, and flames streamed over Sowande. He didn’t stop until the body was a small pile of ashes. No resurrections for him. He clutched Foggy in his claws and leapt into the air, ignoring his best friend’s yelp of surprise.

He swooped down onto a nearby office roof, lowered Foggy to the ground, and transformed back. “Are you okay?” he hurriedly asked.

“ _ Jesus _ , Matt, you’re a fucking  _ dragon _ .”

“But are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. But, Matt, they’ve got the others. Karen, Trish, and Malcolm.”

Matt fought down his flare of anger. “I’ll go find them. I can track Karen down, and hopefully they’ll all be in the same area.” He tilted his head. “I think the others have finally figured out that I didn’t really give myself up.”

“You were going to do  _ what _ ?”

He shrugged easily. “I wasn’t going to let them kill you. But then Danny said that Gao breaks deals, so I figured I’d beat her to it. Course, then they tried to kill you anyway. I would have broken the deal then either way.”

Foggy shook his head. “You’re an idiot.”

Matt grinned at him halfheartedly. “I know.”

He leapt off the building, savoring the brief rush of air before he shifted skins and took flight. By the time he reached the group below, he tasted blood in the air.

“What happened?” he asked hurriedly, not bothering to change back.

“Colleen killed Bakuto,” Danny said proudly. “No resurrections this time. Oh, and your Stick guy bailed. Said he needed to go find the leftover Chaste.”

“We need to get to the Hand. They’ve still got Karen and a couple others.”

Jessica nodded. “They’re probably at Midland Circle. Let’s go.”

Matt huffed out a sigh, and lowered himself a little. “Hop on then, I guess.”

They complied, and once he’d clawed back into the sky, he dropped Claire off with Foggy. “Sorry, but this is going to be a bigger fight than you’re used to.”

She groaned, but didn’t argue. “Just don’t die, alright?” The five of them nodded at her, and then they were off.

Jessica’s prediction was spot on; as he neared Midland Circle, he caught Karen’s trail. The place was locked down, but the security was no match for a furious dragon, and Matt’s claws tore through the windows and steel like a knife through butter. He let the others off, and charged ahead to clear a path through the building to the pit below. They caught up when he paused at the top of the opening, and he unceremoniously grabbed them and flung himself down the elevator shaft. He barely even noticed their yelps; the drive to save Karen from the Hand was drowning out everything else.

When they reached the bottom a few seconds later, he dropped them. The five readied themselves for a fight. Matt heard Karen gasp slightly, and he assessed her and the other two hostages quickly. Some surface scratches, but not much more. It was still too much.

Matt growled, “Give back my friend, now!”

The Hand soldiers didn’t respond.

The fire built up in Matt’s core, and he tensed. “Last chance.”

When they still didn’t hand them over, Matt bared his teeth and leapt into the fray. He wasn’t as graceful in his dragon form yet, but his unfamiliarity with his body was made up for by the sheer deadliness of the body in the first place. He lost himself in the fight, but managed to keep from killing anybody. Colleen wasn’t holding to the same rule, but by and large, the others were in agreement with him. No unnecessary deaths.

He tore through the Hand, and when all of the enemy was groaning or still, he shifted back into human form. Matt went over to go talk to Karen, but hesitated a few feet away. “Are you okay?” he asked. It was mostly rhetorical, he didn’t sense any wounds, but he didn’t know what else to say.

“I’m fine, Matt. I just- I just want to go home.”

He nodded, and she stepped forward and hugged him. “Thank you for coming to get us.”

“Of course,” he said quietly.

Matt held on for another few seconds, and pulled away reluctantly. “We need to go. Get on.” He shifted back into his dragon form and knelt to let Karen clamber up. Trish and Malcolm joined her, and he scooped up the others as he took flight.

When they reached the top of the elevator shaft, he set down the ones he’d grabbed and let the others down. “Everyone good?” A round of nods. “Good.”

They made their way out, following the twisted metal and torn drywall that Matt had left in his wake in his rush to get Karen safe, but he flung out his wings to stop them when they were close to the lobby. “Gao’s here. But she’s alone,” he growled.

“She’s got to have a trick up her sleeve,” Jessica grumbled. “No way are we going to be able to just stab her and leave.”

“You three, stay here. We’ll come grab you when it’s safe,” Luke agreed.

After thirty seconds of hushed arguing, the trio without enhancements conceded and backed up, muttering amongst themselves as they went. The rest followed Matt into the lobby. He hissed at the jasmine and blood scent, and they readied themselves for a fight.

Gao laughed quietly. “So much power, and you still have no idea how to use it wisely.” She made a gesture that Matt couldn’t quite follow, and the others froze in their tracks.

“Such a shame dragons are resistant to magic. But, then, even if humans are susceptible, at least we are able to wield it.” She made another minute gesture that was mostly lost on Matt.

He tilted his head at her, and breathed in deeply, breathing out flames. The warmth of them parted around her, and he growled. “You’re not going to hurt my friends. They’re mine.”

It clicked into place, and Matt realized with a wince that he’d accidentally snuck five more people into his hoard. He didn’t know them that well, but they weren’t as solidly  _ his _ as Foggy or Karen were. Still, they were going to be if he had anything to say about it. Gao didn’t get to take that away from him.

On the heels of his realization, he spread his bat-like wings threateningly to shield his friends, and glared at the last leader of the Hand. “That’s  _ enough! _ ” he roared.

Gao stood her ground. “You should have taken the deal.”

“You were going to kill Foggy anyway,” he snapped.

“A Black Sky has no hoard. He has to die.”

The fire built up inside him, and he stalked closer. “You will not-”

He was interrupted by another dragon crashing through the lobby doors. “Did I miss the party?” Elektra asked with a mocking laugh.

She whirled into motion, and Matt didn’t even have the time to step in and help before Gao was dead. The others relaxed out of their frozen stances, and Matt shifted back into a human.

“Thank you.”

“I confirmed my theory, Matthew,” she said with a hint of pride.

“You burst in here just to tell me about my mom?” Matt asked in disbelief.

“Well,” she said lightly, “I did make a promise. But equally importantly, fuck the Hand.”

Matt grinned at her, and tilted his head. “So, where is she?”

“I heard there was a dragon in a church in Hell’s Kitchen, so I went and asked her.”

The others shuffled uncomfortably, but Matt ignored them. “What did she say?”

“Apparently she left for Ireland to sleep for a century after you were born, but woke up when your dad died. You feel it if something in your hoard is destroyed. Or rather, someone. She relocated here to wait for you to figure out your dragon side. She’s at St. Agnes Orphanage. Sister Maggie.”

To the side, Jessica’s heartbeat spiked in surprise, and Matt did his best to keep the shock off his face. “Sister Maggie, you said?”

She laughed. “Fate is cruel, isn’t she.” It wasn’t a question. “I’m sure you two will have fun catching up. Tell her all about how you managed to graduate, or did you send a card back home?”

“Back home?” Danny blurted. Jessica shushed him, and Matt kept his focus on Elektra.

“Thank you again.” he said. He stepped closer and lowered his voice. “You’re sure you don’t want to stay?”

“Matthew, we both know that neither of us wants that.”

Matt nodded reluctantly, and crossed his arms. “You’d better visit though. And not just to rob an office building or fight the Hand.”

“Goodbye, Matthew. Take care of your hoard.”

She left as quickly as she arrived, and Matt turned his attention to his hoard, like he’d been itching to do for the whole conversation.

“It’s finally done.”

Colleen sighed. “There’s still plenty of Hand to round up.”

“I think that asshole is handling it if you want to take a vacation,” Jessica suggested.

Danny’s heartbeat stuttered. “But I’m- I’m the Iron Fist. It’s my job.”

Luke turned to him. “She’s right, you know. You should stick around New York. See what it’s like to live without crazy cult shit.”

“Whatever. I think we should all head home,” Jessica said, lacking her usual bite. “But maybe we can meet up in a few days and talk,” she added reluctantly.

“I have plenty of room at my place,” Matt said hesitantly. “The five of us would fit fine.” He gave them the address.

Danny laughed. “Alright! We’re on! How about next Thursday, a week from now? I’ll bring food.”

“Sure. I’ll bring liquor,” Jessica suggested dryly.

Luke crossed his arms. “We should invite Claire. She’s fought the Hand more than Jess or I, anyway, she should come.”

They nodded, and Matt grinned toothily. “By the way, if you come over enough times, I’ll add you to my hoard.”

Danny seemed delighted. “Cool!”

Jessica groaned, but her heartbeat sounded happy. “I’m going to go get the others.”

Matt tiredly delivered them, as well as Claire and Foggy, to their separate corners of Manhattan, and barely remembered to change into a pair of sweatpants before crashing into his bed at dawn. Tomorrow, there would be time to work things out.


	5. Chapter Four: In Which Matt Finds Some More Family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things with the Hand were resolved, but Matt still has loose ends. Not in a "no witnesses, only murder" kind of way, though. More "wow, we sure have a lot to talk about, huh" kind of way. This sad dumb lawyer deserves some more friends and family!

Matt tended to wake up slowly. Stick had tried to train him out of it, and 8 am college classes had done their part to make him function in the morning, but he never was at his best when he first woke up in the morning, especially the day after a big fight.

It’s why it took him approximately twenty three seconds to realize that the smell of coffee and blueberry muffins was in his own apartment, not a neighbour’s, and that there was someone else there. It took another solid four seconds to listen to their heartbeat and recognize it as Foggy.

He cursed and threw on a hoodie, and stumbled tiredly out of his room. “Morning, Fogs.”

“How you doing, buddy?” he said sympathetically.

Matt sighed. “I’m fine.”

“Really? Not in shock from the dragon thing? You’ve had a couple days to get used to it, I know, but-”

“What?” he interrupted. “A couple of  _ days _ ?”

Foggy’s heartbeat tripped over itself. “Fuck, did you hit your head while you were fighting ninjas?”

“No, I’m fine, I was just asleep, but- what day is it?”

“Today’s Sunday? Last I saw you, it was Thursday night. Well, Friday morning, I guess.”

“Shit, I have church.”

“Not this week,” Foggy said firmly. “This week, you’re going to sit your ass down and we’re going to actually  _ talk _ about what’s been going on between us. I get the feeling I didn’t get the whole picture.”

“But Father Lantom-”

“Nope! No buts! I brought coffee from that fancy place you like on Tenth as a bribe!”

“I’m not Bess.”

“And that’s why it’s caffeine, not cigars.”

Matt sighed. “Fine.”

“Also,” Foggy started, a note of hesitation coming into his voice. “I cleaned up your place up a bit. Figured it was the least I could do for you, after you saved my life and everything.”

“Foggy, you didn’t have to-” Matt started. Foggy was quick to cut him off, with a nonchalance that sounded a little too forced.

“That’s what friends are for, dumbass. Now sit down and drink.”

Matt grimaced but aquiesced. Several minutes passed, both men drinking their coffee in relative silence.

“So,” Foggy finally said, “I guess, well. I wanted to apologize.”

Matt nearly choked on his coffee. “For what? I was the one who screwed up everything.”

“Well, yeah, but it’s not entirely your fault. You had to balance a lot. And,” Foggy hesitated. “I didn’t realize before now, but you need to Daredevil. It’s part of you.”

Matt frowned. “Is the dragon thing part of this? Because if it is, trust me, I’m still-”

“No! I mean, yes, but no? Just,” Foggy said. He sounded frustrated, and Matt couldn’t help but wonder if that annoyance was because of him. His unspoken question was answered with Foggy’s next words. 

“Ugh, I don’t know how to explain it. You being a dragon is part of it, I guess, but more than that? It’s just that- I don’t know, you seemed so certain when you were with the others. It was the same look in your eyes when we started Nelson & Murdock, or when we got Karen free, or at time in court when- well, really every time we’re in court. Point is, you’re here to help people, and I guess I got so caught up in the secret-keeping and the worry about your safety that I forgot the good you were doing. Daredevil is a  _ part of you _ , and not just the dragon part,” he said in a rush.

Matt couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “So, wait, you’re okay with me being a vigilante?”

“I’m never going to be happy about it,” Foggy assured him, “but I kind of see why you have to do it.”

Matt gaped at him, and Foggy shrugged. “I don’t think it’s a good idea to try and reopen Nelson & Murdock yet, but I think maybe- maybe down the line, it could work. If we start over, with Karen, and build it back up without all the lies?”

“It’s hard to tell you everything,” he whispered.

“Then we’ll figure out what you do and don’t need to share. I don’t want to know about every mugger you stop, Matty, I just need to know about the bigger stuff. And we can work something out so that you can Daredevil and work at the same time.”

“I don’t deserve this.”

Foggy reached over the counter, his heart doing something complicated, and grabbed one of his hands. “Matt,” he sighed, “you deserve to be happy.”

He gave Foggy a tired smile, and chose not to lie. “I think I’m going to get there.”

Matt and Foggy talked for a while after their conversation over coffee, but it was never as angry as previous conversations. Karen arrived about an hour later, and the trio worked out a plan for Nelson, Murdock, & Page. It wasn’t much more than that, but it was more substantial than a vague hope of reunion. Matt felt the fire in him growing with the strengthening of his bonds with Karen and Foggy, and he used the boost in his mood to pluck up the courage to go to church later that day.

“Hello, Matthew,” Father Lantom said warmly. “Was there something on your mind? We missed you this morning.”

“Yeah, it’s been a long few days,” Matt groaned.

“Want to talk about it? The latte machine still works.”

Matt paused to think about the offer, but shook his head. “Maybe afterwards. I have someone else I need to talk to first.”

He bid goodbye to Father Lantom and headed into a quiet corner of the chapel. He scanned the two buildings full of heartbeats, double checking the familiar ones that tugged at his attention. Sister Mary, Sister Katherine, Sister Judy.

There.

Next door, ground floor, talking sternly to a pair of guilty kids. Caught in the act of snacking on Communion wafers.

He strode over to the orphanage, and made his way inside. The familiar sounds of the building creaking and children living settled back into his bones, made him feel like an angry teen again, but also impossibly old. Like he’d never be this young again.

The two children the nun had been scolding raced past him, and he hesitated before turning the corner. “Um, Sister Maggie?”

“Yes, I’m here. Who are you?”

“Sorry, you haven’t seen me since I was living here.” Matt realized. “I’m Matthew Murdock.”

Her heartbeat spiked, but she kept her voice level. “And what can I do for you today?”

“I know.”

She was quiet for a long few seconds.

“How much of it?”

“That you’re my mother, that I’m a  _ dragon _ ,” he hissed. “I know that you abandoned my dad and I. I just don’t know why you did any of it.”

She sighed, and when she spoke again, she sounded tired. “We should go somewhere more private.”

Matt nodded, and followed her to an empty room nearby. She sat down in the chair by the window, and he took the one next to it. Neither wanted to break the uneasy silence.

“How did you find out? When?”

She didn’t clarify what realization she was talking about, and Matt didn’t ask. “I found out I was a dragon a few days ago when I met Danny. I found out you were my mother a little while after that. Elektra found you for me.”

“The dragon who was asking questions? That’s a friend of yours?”

Matt shrugged. “At the moment.”

She hummed in acknowledgement.

“Why?” Matt asked, doing his best to keep his tone steady. “Why did you go?”

Maggie sighed again, her voice heavy. “I was afraid.”

She didn’t elaborate, and Matt frowned at the brevity. “Of what?”

“How much dragon you had in you,” she said after a moment of hesitation. After the gates opened, though, her explanation built up steam. “I didn’t want you to have to pretend to be human, because it would always feel a little off. I felt like I had made a mistake. I was wrong, but I didn’t see that until after you had lived in the orphanage for a few years. You seemed miserable, and I was sure at first that it was because you were a dragon. I was too guilty to see that you just missed Jack.”

Matt sat there, absorbing the words. She’d meant all of it. “I think- I don’t know. I need to think about all this. I’ll talk to you next Sunday, but I don’t know what I’m going to say yet.”

She nodded. “I understand.”

“Did anyone know?”

“Father Lantom knows I left a child, but he doesn’t know it’s you.”

Matt gave her a halfhearted nod. “Okay. I’ll see you soon.” He left, his thoughts swirling.

Four days later, the other vigilantes gathered at Matt’s house, and bonded over a table full of Thai takeout and alcohol. They arrived in bits and pieces; first Danny and Colleen, talking about making the Chikara Dojo an apartment with warmth in their voices, then Claire and Luke, who brought news about the work they were doing for Harlem, and finally Jessica, who swaggered in very late and slightly bloody. She briefly explained that she got into a bar fight and beat the shit out of a creep who tried to roofie a woman, and the others nodded in understanding.

Matt leaned back in his seat and reflected on how nice it was to talk to people who got it. Claire had been pulled into the vigilante world again not long after she left Hell’s Kitchen, and by this point, she could probably be a vigilante herself if she really wanted. At the very least, she was more understanding now.

Danny and Colleen seemed nice, like they balanced each other out. They were part of the way into the story of how they met, and Matt laughed and rolled his eyes at Danny’s admission that he showed up at her studio like a lost puppy and then called her from a psych ward.

Luke was a bit of a mystery; he was quiet and kind, but Matt couldn’t quite get a read on him. He smelled faintly of chemicals, like the smell had gotten into his clothes and never quite came out, only it was him that the smell had stuck to. He had the voice of a man with stories, but that was too tired to tell them.

Matt’s favourite was Jessica. She was blunt, but still cared. She didn’t have to stick around for the Hand crap, but she told her client’s family that she would find the truth and she saw it through. Plus, he had a funny feeling that she and Karen would probably get along like a house on fire.

The warmth of the group seeped into him, and he savoured the swirling smells and sounds. Inside, he felt the dragon curling around them, and he nodded subconsciously. They were his. Not close yet, but on sitting on the outskirts of his hoard. Given enough time, they would find their way further into his life, and surprisingly, he found himself looking forward to it.

After they left, Matt changed into his Daredevil suit and slipped out of his apartment through the roof access. He didn’t even get to the third roof before changing into his dragon skin and leaping off the building.

He rose high above the city, embracing the shifting air that felt like different neighbourhoods and different people and different buildings. The wind formed a different mental map than he was used to. It wasn’t a world on fire, it was a world that was a river. The images didn’t flicker, they moved past him, creating an impression of whirling movement and the hum of lights and people far below. Birds were tiny leaves in the roaring river, and Matt swooped through the sky tasting the currents.

The exhilaration of flight was stronger than anything he felt as Matt Murdock, and happier than anything he felt as Daredevil. He could almost forget the pain and fury below him in alleyways and filthy streets.

The smell of the river wafted past him, and he banked towards the docks. It was time for work, but he vowed to take more time to fly. He kept that kernel of satisfaction with him through the long night of stopping crime and the even longer day of working cases. He had his hoard, his dragon form, and his territory. 

Hell’s Kitchen was  _ his _ , and he would defend it.


End file.
